Basketball card game

ABSTRACT

A basketball card game is played where participants utilize basketball player cards and a unique skill score rating system to possess a required number of skill category cards to win the game. Themes and actual player statistics related to the game of basketball are employed to develop each player&#39;s skill score in the various skill categories. No one skill wins championships, successful teams must be fundamentally sound and participants act as the coach to best utilize the basketball talents of their team (player cards in hand) to possess more skill category cards than any other participant.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a card game, and moreparticularly to a playing card game that uses cards that include playerratings and statistics.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Basketball player trading cards are popular and act to captureattributes and likenesses of many culturally historic players and fanfavorites of this great performance art, but fail to incorporategenerations of basketball players within a simple, entertaining, andeffective playing card game process. Additionally, trading cards aremeant to be collected. They are not manufactured to be utilized in aplaying card game. The value of the cards decreases if their cornersshow wear and tear or if the card becomes damaged.

There have been numerous games that utilize informational playing cardsto simulate playing various sporting events or theme-based games usingcomparisons of characters or objects and their attributes related tosuch topics as baseball, basketball, hockey, wrestling, physicalgeography, and military equipment. Several examples are detailed below.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,022,023 and 6,012,721 each disclose basketball cardgames that simulate a basketball game. The games are determinedarbitrarily based on dice rolls and card draws. Neither game uses actualplayer statistics and relative comparisons of their skill attributesagainst each other.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,467,997 and 6,921,075 each disclose games that utilizeinformational playing cards covering of a variety of themes andsubjects. Round and game winners are determined subjectively by theparticipants, rather than in an objective manner utilizing skill andstatistics of real world players or items.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,092 discloses a card game to simulate a game ofhockey. As above, the card values are not assigned based on actualplayer or real world statistics as a comparison.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,392,986 discloses a WAR-type game where players competefor cards based on statistical comparisons of wrestlers, aliens,military equipment, monsters, or athletes. The game is a fantasy gamebased on fictitious cards created by the designer. The game does notinclude skill score comparisons of basketball players based on realworld statistics of the players.

Therefore, there is a need for a card game that includes skill-basedcomparisons of basketball players that are based on their real worldstatistics.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to various exemplary embodiments, including games,cards, and method of playing and of using the same.

These and other features and advantages of exemplary embodiments of theinvention are described below with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is the obverse side of an exemplary basketball player cardtemplate according to the present invention.

FIG. 1B is the reverse side of a basketball player card as in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 shows several exemplary skill score calculations for variouslevels of basketball competition to determine the skill score ratings asin FIG. 1A.

FIG. 3 is an example of a basketball player card (showing the obverseside) according to the template shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 4 shows the obverse side of a skill category card (free throws)according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an example of game play according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numeric values and ranges areprovided for various aspects of the implementations described. Thesevalues and ranges are to be treated as examples only and are notintended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, a number ofmaterials and ingredients are identified as suitable for various facetsof the implementations. These materials and ingredients are to betreated as exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of theclaims.

The invention relates to an apparatus and method of play for abasketball card game using a pack of basketball player cards and aunique skill score calculation system in which participants (up to four)compete with each other to possess a required number of skill categorycards to win the game. There are seven basketball skill category cards:scoring, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, 3-point field goals, andfree throws. Each basketball player card has an obverse and a reverseside. The obverse side contains individual player data, such asbiographic information and a prominently displayed skill score ratingfor each of the seven skill categories. The skill score ratings consistof whole numbers, ranging in value from 1-10, and are based on actualplayer statistics. The reverse side is generic and non-informational andis unrevealing of the player's identity and skill attributes containedon the obverse side, so as to prevent other players from knowing theidentity of the card. There is only one card for each basketball skillcategory, which prominently lists or identifies one and only one of theseven skill categories on both sides of a single card—so that with seventotal cards, each skill category is accounted for.

Several game variations are envisioned, including methods of playing“5-Card Draw”, “7-Card Stud”, and “Draft Your Own Team”. Prior to play,the seven skill cards are placed to the side of playing area for all tosee—these will be competed for one at a time during each possession ofplay. When playing either of the first two game variations (“5-CardDraw” or “7-Card Stud”), the player cards are shuffled and five (orseven, depending upon game variation chosen) are dealt one at a timeface-down (obverse side down) to each participant. The remaining playercards are placed face-down as a draw pile. When playing the “Draft YourOwn Team” variation, players take turns selecting a twelve man roster,but thereafter, the rules and game follow similarly that of “5-CardDraw” or “7-Card Stud”.

Participants chose to utilize player cards that they were randomly dealt(or that they drafted themselves) to possess as many of the skill cardsas possible. In “5-Card Draw”, each participant replenishes his/her teamby drawing one card from the draw pile following each possession ofplay. In the “7-Card Stud” variation, participants must make the bestuse of the hand of basketball player cards they were initially dealt.

In each game variation, play begins by “shooting for ball” in which thefree throw skill card is competed for. All players select one of theirplayer cards to compete in this category and reveal their cardsimultaneously on this first play of the game. The winner of this skillcard will be the participant playing the basketball player card with thehighest free throw skill score rating. Ties on this or any other skillcard competition are broken by a tie-break determination sequence. Thewinner of the free throw skill category card takes possession of thefree throws skill card. The used basketball player cards (the singleplayer cards played by each participant) are eliminated from game play.When playing “5-Card Draw”, each participant replenishes his or her teamby drawing one card from a face-down draw pile (which includes thoseplayer cards not initially dealt out to the participants) following eachpossession or skill card competition. When playing “7-Card Stud”,participants are not allowed any more cards than originally dealt; theymust compete for skill category cards using only the basketball playercards which comprise their team in hand.

The winner of each skill card possession has the advantage of selectingthe next skill category card to be competed for and places it to thecenter of the playing area. The participant to the selector's left isthe first to play by placing a player card obverse side up on this newskill category and play continues clockwise, with each participantplaying one player card (obverse side up for all to see) to compete forpossession of the skill card selected. The previous skill card winnerwill play last and can adjust his/her strategy as desired depending uponthe other participants' cards played. The participant playing thehighest skill score for this category wins possession of that skillcard. Play continues in this way until a single participant has earnedand possessed a required number of skill cards to win the game.

The card game incorporates both artistic and strategic play and thescience of chance and statistics. This game is first and foremost anamusement, but simultaneously captures the essence of basketball as ateam game, for no one player (and therefore no one basketball playercard) can do it all alone. Possessing a good balance of key fundamentalbasketball skills is essential to be successful. A unique skill scorerating calculation and game design and method permits the incorporationof basketball player cards from different eras or generations into acommon game process.

Trading cards typically lose value when they are handled, worn, ordamaged. The basketball player cards and skill category cards of thisinvention are meant to be played with. They are to be of uniform sizeand shape (for example, about 3″×4.5″) with rounded corners and are tobe constructed so that they are flexible and durable, having a slickfinish such is customary with a deck of traditional playing cardsbecause they are intended to be regularly handled, shuffled, and dealt.The game provides a playing card game utilizing historical statisticaldata from players (performance artists) of the game of basketball.Providing fans a card game that they can play—acting as coach to bestutilize the basketball talents of the player cards they have in hand.

The invention includes apparatus and methods of playing a basketballplaying card game for up to four participants. Several game variationsare described including: “5-Card Draw”, “7-Card Stud”, and “Draft YourOwn Team”. The equipment is the same for each of these game variants andincludes fifty individual basketball player cards and seven basketballskill category cards.

Each basketball player card has an obverse and a reverse side. Referringto FIG. 1, the obverse side of the card (FIG. 1A) contains individualplayer data such as biographic information 10, statistics 12, and aprominently displayed skill score rating 14 for each of the followingseven skill categories: scoring, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks,3-point field goals, and free throws. The reverse side (FIG. 1B) isgeneric and non-informational and is unrevealing of the player'sidentity and skill score attributes contained on the obverse side. Inthis way, the other game players do not know which playing cards theother players have until they are revealed.

The basketball player skill score ratings are generally whole numbers,ranging in value from 1-10 (1 being the lowest or worst value and 10being the highest or best value), and are based upon actual historicalplayer statistical averages. For example, a player that averaged 10.0rebounds per game in real life (e.g., the NBA) would have a higher skillscore rating for rebounds than a player that averaged 7.0 rebounds pergame in real life. Skill score calculations are provided for differentlevels of basketball competition and are assigned according to how anindividual player's statistics compare to their peers in each of theseven skill categories. In this manner, a historic range of players(artists of the game of basketball), to include those of the past,present, and future can be easily incorporated into the game. FIG. 2shows an exemplary method for skill score calculations utilizing regularseason career statistics for professional men's leagues (consideringplayers with at least 250 games played), for professional woman'sleagues (considering players with at least 100 games played), and forthe men's collegiate or amateur level (considering players with at least50 games played) are given as an example.

The basketball player cards and skill category cards are all to be ofthe same uniform size and shape (for example, about 3″×4.5″) withrounded corners and are to be constructed so that they are flexible anddurable, having a slick finish such is customary with a deck oftraditional playing cards because they are intended to be regularlyhandled, shuffled, and dealt. The fifty basketball player cards includethe identities and corresponding basketball related statistics of fiftydifferent or unique basketball players, but preferably include thefollowing quantities and position types: ten point guards, ten shootingguards, ten small forwards, ten power forwards, and ten centers. Anexample basketball playing card is shown in FIG. 3. The seven skillcategory cards can contrast in color compared to the basketball playercards, so that the skill cards easily stand out, and generally includeone skill card of each of the following categories: scoring, rebounds,assists, steals, blocks, 3-point field goals, and free throws. The skillcategory cards prominently list or identify one and only one of theseven skill categories on both sides of a single card. An example skillcategory card is shown in FIG. 4.

Participants compete via a unique game process to possess a requiredamount of skill category cards to win the game. Individual skillcategory cards are won by a participant playing a basketball player cardwith a higher skill score in that category than played by any otherparticipant. The apparatus and methods of play for these game variationsis described below.

5-Card Draw:

Participants place the seven skill category cards so each is visible offto the side of the playing area. Each skill category card is competedfor separately during each possession or round of play. The fiftybasketball player cards are shuffled and dealt, five cards (one at atime) face down (obverse side down) to each participant. The remainingbasketball player cards are placed in a single stack, face-down as adraw pile. These are the “reserves” or “bench” players from whichparticipants will replenish their teams.

An example of a round or possession of game play is shown in FIG. 5.FIG. 5 depicts a standard first round of a typical game. Every gamebegins by “shooting for ball” (a common expression used to determinewhich team gets the first possession in a pick-up game of basketball),in which the free throws skill category card is placed in the center ofthe game area. Each participant acts as the coach of the team in his/herhand and selects one of his/her five player cards to compete for thefree throws skill category card. Participants must reveal their selectedcard simultaneously on this first possession or play of the game. Playercards of Participants 1, 2, 3, and 4 are shown in FIG. 5 as chosen byeach participant. The participant playing the highest skill score forthe free throws category wins possession of the free throws skill card.In FIG. 5, the free throws skill score rating of Participant 3, playingBilly Basketball, is higher than that of the free throws skill scorerating of the other 3 participants. Billy Basketball has a free throwsskill score rating of “10”, while the player selected by Participants 1and 2 have ratings of “9” and the player selected by Participant 4 has afree throws skill score rating of “8”. Thus, Participant 3 gainspossession of the free throws skill category card.

From time to time, the participants may choose players that have thesame skill score rating for a particular skill category. Skill scoreties are broken, on this or any other skill category competition, byproceeding through an established tie-breaker determination sequence forthose participants that have a skill score tie.

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 3, in the case of a skill score tie, theparticipants next consult the number of championships won on thebasketball player cards that were just played. The participant playing acard with the higher value of championships won wins the tie-breaker andpossession of the skill card. If there is still a tie after consultingthe number of championships won, participants next consult the “average”for that skill in question, as shown in the statistics section 12 of theplayer card. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, Billy Basketball has won 5championships and has a 90.2 average for free throws in the statisticssection 12. In the unlikely case there is still a tie, participantsfinally refer to the number of “games played” in the biographicinformation section 10 of the player card. Again, the higher valuealways wins possession of the skill card in question.

Like the real game, the game according to the present invention has aparticular flow and pace to it and emulates many themes found in thegame of basketball. Game transition and role playing are important.Basketball is about a balanced attack. No one skill wins championships.Participants need offensive and defensive capabilities. And mostimportantly—teamwork. Following each possession (each skill categorycompetition), the used basketball player cards are taken out-of-play forthe remainder of this particular game and each participant replenisheshis or her team by selecting another basketball player card from thedraw pile (“the bench”). Thus, each participant always has five playersunder his or her control.

The participant that won the free throws skill card will try to controlthe flow of the game. Like in make-it-take-it (a common basketball termin which the team scoring gets to maintain possession of the ball), theparticipant that just earned the free throws skill card selects the nextskill category card to be competed for and places it to the center ofthe game area. The participant to the selector's left is the first toplay on the newly selected skill category. Play continues clockwiseallowing the selector to size-up the competition and decide just howhigh to elevate his/her game—or perhaps rethink the strategy if someoneelse plays this particular category's best basketball player card. Afterall participants have played on the newly selected skill category, theparticipant playing the highest skill score for this category winspossession of the skill card. Ties are always broken by the tie breakersequence noted above as required.

Each participant replenishes his or her team with one card from the drawpile following each possession and whomever won the last skill categorycard has the advantage of selecting the next of the remaining skillcategories to be competed for. Play continues in this manner until one,and only one participant has mastered enough basketball fundamentals towin the game—demonstrated by possessing a required number of skillcategory cards.

Winning: It takes a team and a balance of skills. If two participantsare playing, the game is won by earning (possessing) at least 4 of the 7skill category cards. If there are three or four participants, a gamevictory is only achieved if a single participant earns more skillcategory cards than any other participant. This will be three or fourskill cards, depending upon the circumstances. Earning four is always awinner. Earning three skill category cards is a winner if no otherparticipant has earned as many as three skill cards. If no oneparticipant meets these criteria, then “it's a jump ball”, and a gamereplay is in order.

Participants reshuffle all fifty basketball player cards and “run itback” (which is a pick-up basketball saying meaning to “play again”).Participants may choose to play a single game, a best of five-, or abest of seven-playoff series by keeping track of their game victories.

7-Card Stud:

Participants place the seven skill category cards so each is visible offto the side of the playing area. One skill category card is competed forseparately during each possession of play. The fifty basketball playercards are shuffled and seven dealt (one at a time) face down (obverseside down) to each participant. The remaining basketball player cardsare no longer needed in this game variation and can be placed aside.

This variation is played and won by the same method as described in “5Card Draw” with the exception that participants do not replenish theirhand following each skill card competition or possession of play. In“7-Card Stud”, to secure a win, each participant must make the best useof the basketball player cards that they were initially dealt.

Draft Your Own Team:

In this variant, participants draft their own twelve man team. The sevenskill category cards are placed so that each is visible off to the sideof the playing area. One skill category card will be competed forseparately during each possession of play. The fifty individualbasketball player cards are turned face up (obverse side up) and spreadout so that they are all visible to the participants. Participants taketurns selecting one basketball player card at a time until eachparticipant has a team roster of twelve basketball player cards of hisor her choosing.

Prior to play, each participant shuffles his or her twelve player rosterand places it face down (obverse side down). The participants thenchoose to collectively play “5-Card Draw” or “7-Card Stud” using onlythe basketball player cards that they have drafted. If playing “5-CardDraw”, participants deal themselves the top five cards from their owntwelve player roster and replenish their team from their own draw pile(from their own bench) following each possession or skill cardcompetition. Play is then conducted according the method described in“5-Card Draw” except participants only draw from their own team rosteror team draw pile. If playing “7-Card Stud”, after shuffling theirbasketball player cards, participants simply deal themselves the topseven basketball player cards from their team roster and conduct playaccording method described in “7-Card Stud”.

2-on-2 (Franchise Packs):

A fourth game variation, “2-on-2” (also called “Franchise Packs”, “TeamPlay” and “Rivalry Packs”), requires a customized fifty card pack thatincludes two sets of twenty-five basketball players each. Each set ismade up of players that have played for the same team, however, notnecessarily at the same time. Each of these two sets will generallyinclude five basketball players of each position type: five pointguards, five shooting guards, five small forwards, five power forwards,and five centers so that there are twenty-five players associated witheach team set.

“2-on-2” is a team concept in which two participants are on the sameteam and will compete against two other participants that are on thesame team. Participants collectively choose to play by game rule methodsdescribed in “5-Card Draw” or “7-Card Stud”. However, each team playsusing only its own twenty-five basketball player card set to competeagainst the other team's twenty-five basketball player card set. To win,a team of two participants must together possess four of the seven skillcategory cards. Participants may choose to play a single game, a best offive-, or a best of seven-playoff series by keeping track of theirteam's game victories.

To play the card game based on the game of basketball, the gameparticipants are competing for plurality of playing cards that includeskill category cards using player cards. The method includes providingat least five player cards to each card game participant, each playercard representing a specific basketball player with skill score ratingsfor the specific basketball player, the skill score ratingscorresponding to the skill category cards and being calculated based onactual statistics of the specific basketball player.

Next, one of the skill category cards is selected to be played in thefirst round of the game. Each of the card game participants selects oneof the player cards for play in the first round of the card game tocompete for that skill category card. The winner of the round isdetermined by comparing the skill score rating corresponding to theskill category card for each of the player cards played during the firstround of the card game. The participant who plays the player card thathas a higher skill score rating corresponding to that skill categorycard obtains possession of the skill category card played in the firstround of the card game. Subsequent rounds continue as the participantscompete for the other skill category cards until one card gameparticipant has obtained more skill category cards than can be obtainedby any other card game participant.

Typically, the participant who gains possession of the skill categorycard selects the skill category card to be played for in the subsequentround of the card game. In the “five card draw” version of the game,after each round of the card game, the card game participants draw anadditional player card from a draw pile of player cards. In the “sevencard stud” version of the game, each card game participant is providedwith seven player cards to begin the card game. In the “draft your ownteam” version of the game, each card game participant selects playercards so as to have a unique draw pile of player cards from the othercard game participants.

Each of the player cards typically includes actual statistics of thespecific basketball player. These statistics can be used to break tiesin comparing the skill score ratings. The player cards would alsoinclude biographical information of the players to which theycorrespond. Such information may include: name, likeness, nickname,position, jersey number, number of games played, team(s) played for,college attended, height, weight, number of all-star games, and hall offame induction year.

The typical skill categories represented on the skill category cardswould be the following skills: scoring, rebounds, assists, steals,blocks, 3-point field goals, and free throws. Other skills could also beutilized within the scope of the game.

The standard card game would include about 40 to 100 player cards,although 50 player cards are included in a typical version of the game.Special versions of the game would include versions where all of theplayer cards include players that played for a single basketball team orduring a single era (e.g., 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, etc.).Alternatively, a set of the player cards may include players from twoteams so that the franchises can go head-to-head.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with specificexemplary implementations, it is evident to those skilled in the artthat many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparentin light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the invention isintended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variationsthat fall within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of playing a card game based on the gameof basketball, the card game including a plurality of playing cards thatinclude skill category cards and player cards, the method comprising:(a) providing at least five player cards to each card game participant,each player card representing a specific basketball player with skillscore ratings for the specific basketball player, the skill scoreratings corresponding to the skill category cards and being calculatedbased on actual statistics of the specific basketball player; (b)selecting one of the skill category cards to be played for a first roundof the card game; (c) each of the card game participants selecting oneof the player cards for play in the first round of the card game; (d)comparing the skill score rating corresponding to the skill categorycard for each of the player cards played during the first round of thecard game to determine which player card has a higher skill score ratingcorresponding to that skill category card to determine which participantobtains possession of the skill category card played in the first roundof the card game; and (e) repeating (b), (c), and (d) with additionalrounds of the card game until one card game participant has obtainedmore skill category cards than can be obtained by any other card gameparticipant.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the participant who gainspossession of the skill category card selects the skill category card tobe played for in the subsequent round of the card game.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein after each round of the card game, the card gameparticipants draw an additional player card from a draw pile of playercards.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein each card game participant isprovided with seven player cards to begin the card game.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein each card game participant selects player cards soas to have a unique draw pile of player cards from the other card gameparticipants.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the player cardsfurther include actual statistics of the specific basketball player. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein during the act of comparing the skillscore rating corresponding to the skill category card, if the skillscore ratings of two or more player cards are equal, the act ofcomparing further comprises comparing the actual statistics of thespecific basketball player.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the skillcategory cards include one or more of the following skills: scoring,rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, 3-point field goals, and free throws.9. The method of claim 1, including seven skill category cards.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the player cards include actual biographicalinformation for the specific basketball players to which theycorrespond.
 11. A card game based on the game of basketball, comprising:a plurality of skill category cards based on skills from the game ofbasketball; and a plurality of player cards each representing a specificbasketball player, the player cards including skill score ratingscorresponding to the skills of the skill category cards, each skillscore rating being calculated based on actual statistics of the specificbasketball player.
 12. The card game of claim 11, wherein the skillcategory cards include one or more of the following skills: scoring,rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, 3-point field goals, and free throws.13. The card game of claim 11, including seven skill category cards. 14.The card game of claim 11, wherein each of the player cards furtherinclude actual statistics of the specific basketball player.
 15. Thecard game of claim 11, wherein the player cards include actualbiographical information for the specific basketball players to whichthey correspond.
 16. The card game of claim 15, wherein the biographicalinformation includes one or more of the following: name, likeness,nickname, position, jersey number, number of games played, team(s)played for, college attended, height, weight, number of all-star games,and hall of fame induction year.
 17. The card game of claim 11,including about 40 to 100 player cards.
 18. The card game of claim 17,including 50 player cards and seven skill category cards.
 19. The cardgame of claim 11, wherein the plurality of player cards correspond tospecific basketball players that all played on a single basketball teamor on two different basketball teams.